PSI - faster than light?

[Tea Rex]

I haven't found anything on this topic, but if have missed something, please point me in the right direction.

What do you say? Could psionic powers be faster than light? Perhaps PSI "sneaks" somehow through mystical higher dimensions?

In regular Traveller settings, this question is not relevant as the range of PSI is quite short. But what if you had an extremely powerful being like an full-grown Deepnight Entity? This being could well have the ability to call out into the void with its psionic talents. Would this effect reach every susceptible being in range immediately or with a significant delay?

 

[PsiTraveller]

Agent of the Imperium has a planet of Zhodani dancing in Psi chi forms to affect a spaceship Jumping/MisJumping into the system. Another use of the power shortens a Jump from the 7 day standard.

1st edition Psion book has the Fold Space power that allows a ship to enter Jump space without a Jump engine. The Drive Augmentation power allows a Jump Drives range to be extended so a Jump 1 ship could make a Jump 2 or 3 or higher Jump. So the range and power of Psi is pretty powerful.

Other than that the range of Psi is pretty short. FTL implications are 1st edition Jump space related, but Telepathy was never intergalactic.

 

[Sigtrygg]

The only version of Traveller that began to investigate the link between psionics and the higher jump dimensions was TNE, That said there was an article in an early edition of JTAS that definitely had ftl effects for psionic abilities there was also the very worst Traveller supplement I have ever read GURPS Psionics Institutes or whatever it is called.

 

[Condottiere]

If range is limited, you probably won't notice any difference.

If you could see the future in a far away star system, technically that would be faster than light.

 

[Garran]

Research Station Gamma (1980) touched on this idea; the experiments had managed instant interplanetary psionic communications but not (yet) interstellar ones. It doesn't address the issue of this vs light speed, but interplanetary is still light seconds/minutes apart.

 

[OrdosMalleus]

On a practical, in-game, note. If Psis could reliably communicate at interstellar distances FTL, and it was done on any kind of scale, it would change a lot about how the Travelverse works. A lot of the in-game conceits wouldn't work. Also, the Imperium would probably either make psionics legal and encourage testing as a resource, or -more likely- enslave psis to create a communications network. Like the Astropaths in 40K, you would have psychics basically sitting in a chair, constantly sending and receiving messages. Institutions like the government, military, communications companies, banks, trading house, etc. would create a huge demand for telepaths as a commodity.

 

[Condottiere]

Breeding programmes, and going by the Seanchan, psychological conditioning.

 

[Kranth-Technoshaman]

On a practical, in-game, note. If Psis could reliably communicate at interstellar distances FTL, and it was done on any kind of scale, it would change a lot about how the Travelverse works. A lot of the in-game conceits wouldn't work. Also, the Imperium would probably either make psionics legal and encourage testing as a resource, or -more likely- enslave psis to create a communications network. Like the Astropaths in 40K, you would have psychics basically sitting in a chair, constantly sending and receiving messages. Institutions like the government, military, communications companies, banks, trading house, etc. would create a huge demand for telepaths as a commodity.

Talents from Anne McCaffrey, the Pegasus series covers the idea of Telepaths and Telekinetics rather nicely. Complete with testing at a young age and training.

 

[OrdosMalleus]

In 40K, the Black Ships come to a planet and test children for psi talent, then take those who test positive away for mental training and behavioral conditioning.

 

[AndrewW]

Another place where telepathy can reach intergalactic distances is The Warlock In Spite of Himself by Christopher Stasheff.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/640181.The_Warlock_in_Spite_of_Himself

Kinda the first book of a series, another one written later (Escape Velocity) is a prelude.

 

[Tea Rex]

On a practical, in-game, note. If Psis could reliably communicate at interstellar distances FTL, and it was done on any kind of scale, it would change a lot about how the Travelverse works. A lot of the in-game conceits wouldn't work. Also, the Imperium would probably either make psionics legal and encourage testing as a resource, or -more likely- enslave psis to create a communications network. Like the Astropaths in 40K, you would have psychics basically sitting in a chair, constantly sending and receiving messages. Institutions like the government, military, communications companies, banks, trading house, etc. would create a huge demand for telepaths as a commodity.

I totally agree. But humans and all other know sophonts in the Traveller setting are not strong enough to even come close to the power needed for interstellar communication. Perhaps if somebody invented some really incredible psi-tech... but no, I want the Travelverse (nice term) to stay as it is.

In conclusion, I would say that interstellar use of psi abilities is an absolute exception that could be the subject of a special encounter. I will think about it. And the effect will travel faster than light in my Travelverse.

 

[OrdosMalleus]

On a practical, in-game, note. If Psis could reliably communicate at interstellar distances FTL, and it was done on any kind of scale, it would change a lot about how the Travelverse works. A lot of the in-game conceits wouldn't work. Also, the Imperium would probably either make psionics legal and encourage testing as a resource, or -more likely- enslave psis to create a communications network. Like the Astropaths in 40K, you would have psychics basically sitting in a chair, constantly sending and receiving messages. Institutions like the government, military, communications companies, banks, trading house, etc. would create a huge demand for telepaths as a commodity.

I totally agree. But humans and all other know sophonts in the Traveller setting are not strong enough to even come close to the power needed for interstellar communication. Perhaps if somebody invented some really incredible psi-tech... but no, I want the Travelverse (nice term) to stay as it is.

In conclusion, I would say that interstellar use of psi abilities is an absolute exception that could be the subject of a special encounter. I will think about it. And the effect will travel faster than light in my Travelverse.

I could totally see an adventure in a dark espionage-style campaign where someone has figured out instantaneous communication (like Star Trek "subspace") and the characters are sent to steal the secret. Then they discover that it involves something evil like kidnapping psis and sticking them in tanks, like Minority Report plus torture. Then the characters have to decide whether to turn the data over, knowing it will result in horrific treatment of people. AND it will probably disrupt huge parts of society and the economy. Or the company/government will keep it secret, just for things like high-level military messages.

 

[PsiTraveller]

To slightly hijack this thread, are there any plans to release anything new for Psionics in the near future from Mongoose? Something like the Psion Book of first edition?

 

[Garran]

Research Station Gamma indicated that even if the interstellar communication project produced a usable result it would be immediately suppressed by the Imperium on the grounds that, however useful it might be to them, it would only be a matter of time before the Zhodani got their hands on it, and it would be far more potent in their hands.

This has a slight logic hole to it in that the Zhodani would almost certainly have developed the trick themselves if it was reasonably possible, given their vastly greater talent pool and expertise.

 

[ShawnDriscoll]

I haven't found anything on this topic, but if have missed something, please point me in the right direction.

What do you say? Could psionic powers be faster than light? Perhaps PSI "sneaks" somehow through mystical higher dimensions?

In regular Traveller settings, this question is not relevant as the range of PSI is quite short. But what if you had an extremely powerful being like an full-grown Deepnight Entity? This being could well have the ability to call out into the void with its psionic talents. Would this effect reach every susceptible being in range immediately or with a significant delay?

PSI is instant, no matter the distance. At least for mind-reading between two psions. The game probably puts range restrictions on them though, to make things harder to do and more interesting.

 

[Condottiere]

Speed of thought.

 

[OrdosMalleus]

I haven't found anything on this topic, but if have missed something, please point me in the right direction.

What do you say? Could psionic powers be faster than light? Perhaps PSI "sneaks" somehow through mystical higher dimensions?

In regular Traveller settings, this question is not relevant as the range of PSI is quite short. But what if you had an extremely powerful being like an full-grown Deepnight Entity? This being could well have the ability to call out into the void with its psionic talents. Would this effect reach every susceptible being in range immediately or with a significant delay?

And they could burn through the minds of 1,000 psis per day to maintain the signal, like ya do! :lol:

 

[Condottiere]

They say that the Golden Throne is an illusion, so that onlookers don't lose their minds when they witness the actual machinery.

 

[OrdosMalleus]

They say that the Golden Throne is an illusion, so that onlookers don't lose their minds when they witness the actual machinery.

What?! HERESY!! :lol:

 

[Condottiere]

Not to the Adeptus Mechanicus.